Tie may work in 49ers' favor

The San Francisco 49ers joined a select group Sunday evening when they played to a 24-24 draw against the St. Louis Rams (the first NFL tie in nearly four seasons).

The game played out about the way you'd expect for one without a winner: the better team lost its quarterback to injury, neither offense drove with confidence in overtime, both sides missed field goals in the extra period and there were mistakes all around.

So, the 49ers find themselves at 6-2-1 -- a record that eats at players, coaches, fans and statisticians.

What an annoying superfluous figure tagging along there at the end, signifying the team's inability to claim a winnable game against a downtrodden foe.

But as strange as it seems, the extra "and one" could be a blessing in disguise.

The Niners know for sure they control their destiny in the division -- there's no way Seattle, Arizona or any other NFL team will notch a tie later this season, right?

They won't have to wrap their brains around playoff-seeding scenarios come late December because their record will stand on its own, putting them either clearly ahead or behind the other conference contenders after 16 games.

Plus, San Francisco should remember that the last NFC team to earn a regular-season draw (the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles) made a run all the way to the conference title game.

Even after the undesirable outcome Sunday, the 49ers remain in the hunt for the NFC's No. 2 seed, trailing only the Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears, who come to town this week.

San Francisco has good wins already this season (against Green Bay and Detroit) and hasn't dropped a divisional game. Its only losses came against an overachieving Vikings' squad and a blowout by the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants.

The Niners have navigated a difficult schedule admirably thus far, but the challenge intensifies the final seven games, which also include matchups against the New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots and all three NFC West opponents.

That stretch becomes much more difficult if Alex Smith isn't leading the offense.

The starting quarterback suffered a concussion against the Rams. Backup Colin Kaepernick played decently in his absence (rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown while completing only 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards), but the second-year man didn't even earn a decision.

Yes the 49ers rank 28th in passing yards mostly because of Smith, but the veteran boasts the NFL's third-best passer rating and is careful with the football -- 13 touchdowns versus five interceptions.

With his resurgence last season, San Francisco was an overtime botched punt away from a Super Bowl appearance. A healthy Smith could put his team in the same position this year.

Of course the quarterback isn't the only answer on offense.

The 49ers are first in the NFL in rushing, led by Frank Gore's 753 yards. The wide receivers need to help ease the team's dependence on the run.

Michael Crabtree is finally beginning to come around (510 receiving yards and four touchdowns), but offseason acquisitions Randy Moss and Mario Manningham have only 44 catches and three scores combined.

Though the defense is stellar on the whole (first in points allowed and third in total defense), some of its stars have faded.

Linebackers Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith have 13.5 sacks combined but no other Niner has more than two. Patrick Willis and Justin Smith, who had 9.5 sacks between them last season, don't have a single one in 2012.

Moving forward, both sides of the ball must address their affinity with 21 -- the team's middle-of-the-road ranking in three key categories: sacks, interceptions and offensive third-down percentage.

Another area of disconcerting mediocrity is placekicking.

David Akers, just 15 for 21 on field goals, must work out those kinks as well. Don't forget, if he had his act together in overtime Sunday, the Niners would be 7-2 with a two-game division lead right now.